Category Archives: Article

HRH The Duke of Gloucester at Buckingham Palace

Today ,as Chairman of the Somme Association, I attended a meeting of the Patronages of HRH The Duke of Gloucester KC, GCVO Working within the Veterans, Disabled and Healthcare Sector in The Yellow Drawing Room, Buckingham Palace. Between 1847 and … Continue reading

Posted in Article | Comments Off on HRH The Duke of Gloucester at Buckingham Palace

Ireland in the Decade of the Great War,1912-1923:Towards Commemoration 4

Session 4: Claiming SovereigntyChair: Prof Eunan O’Halpin (Trinity College Dublin) Prof Paul Bew (Queen’s University Belfast). Paul was indisposed and was unable to give his paper.Nationalism and Unionism: A Churchillian Perspective 1912-22. The paper was to concentrate on the decline … Continue reading

Posted in Article | Comments Off on Ireland in the Decade of the Great War,1912-1923:Towards Commemoration 4

Ireland in the Decade of the Great War,1912-1923:Towards Commemoration 3

Session 3: BattlefrontsChair: Dr Adrian Gregory (Pembroke College, Oxford) Philip Orr (Independent Historian)Sacred Grounds: Great War Battlefields and Irish Memory This talk examined two battle fronts experienced by Irish regiments during the Great War and the ways in which those … Continue reading

Posted in Article | Comments Off on Ireland in the Decade of the Great War,1912-1923:Towards Commemoration 3

Ireland in the Decade of the Great War,1912-1923:Towards Commemoration 2

Session 2: VolunteeringChair: Prof Richard Grayson (Goldsmiths, University of London) Dr Catriona Pennell (University of Exeter)More than a ‘curious footnote’: Irish Responses to Britain’s Call for Volunteers, 1914-1916 In 2009, the British Radio 1 DJ and television presenter, Chris Moyles, … Continue reading

Posted in Article | Comments Off on Ireland in the Decade of the Great War,1912-1923:Towards Commemoration 2

Ireland in the Decade of the Great War,1912-1923:Towards Commemoration 1

I returned yesterday from a Conference in Monte Carlo, Monaco…Ireland in the Decade of the Great War, 1912 – 1923: Towards Commemoration. I attended as High Sheriff of Belfast, Chairman of the Somme Association and Convenor of the Posse Comitatus with my … Continue reading

Posted in Article | Comments Off on Ireland in the Decade of the Great War,1912-1923:Towards Commemoration 1

The Shire Reeve's Tale: 5O

My closing speech to today's Civic Reception at Belfast City Hall in honour of the Loch Lao Christian Heritage Festival included the following: Bangor, once the site of one of the largest schools in Ireland, was the jumping –off point … Continue reading

Posted in Article | Comments Off on The Shire Reeve's Tale: 5O

The Shire Reeve's Tale:49

Today, as High Sheriff of Belfast and President of the Ullans Academy I attended the Loch Lao Heritage Festival Civic Reception at the City Hall , Belfast. The welcome address by the Lord Mayor was as follows: Good afternoon elected … Continue reading

Posted in Article | Comments Off on The Shire Reeve's Tale:49

The Shire Reeve's Tale:48

This evening I was invited in my capacity as High Sheriff and as a guest of Paul Millar, one of the Partners of the practice of Hamilton Architects, to the official opening of Hamilton House, Joy Street, Belfast. Paul is … Continue reading

Posted in Article | Comments Off on The Shire Reeve's Tale:48

The Blackbird Festival

WELCOME WALCOME – FÁILTE Welcome, Walcome, and Fáilte to the first Loch Lao Christian Heritage Festival, or the Blackbird Festival! In Ulster Scots, this is the Bilfawst Loch Christyan Heirschip Feis, or the Blackburd Feis; and in Irish the Feis … Continue reading

Posted in Article | Comments Off on The Blackbird Festival

The Shire Reeve's Tale:47

Tonight I attended the Northern Cricket Union of Ireland 125th Anniversary Gala Dinnerin the City Hall , BelfastThe Top Table comprised:- • Ian Adamson High Sheriff• Michael Vaughan Former England Captain• Richard Johnson Cricket Ireland President and wife, Heather• David … Continue reading

Posted in Article | Comments Off on The Shire Reeve's Tale:47